Pneumatic-tire tread



Mau'chwl'7,v 1931. HfA. BRITTAIN 1,797,187

PNEUMATIC TIRE TREAD Filed ot. 19, 1925 Patented Mar. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT i oF'FlcE HAROLD A. BRITTAIN, AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, OF AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION F OHIO v PNEUmcrIc-TIRE TREAD Application mea october 19, 1925'.A serial No. 63,399'.

My invention relates to pneumatic tire casings and it has particular relation to the structure of the tread portion of such tire casings.

One object of my inventionfis to provideV a tire which is so designed that the greatest pressure forces per unit area exerted therein incident to road service will be imposed at predetermined areas about the contour thereof, andin which special means are employed 1o for resisting wear at such areas.

y Another object of -my invention is to provide atire having a non-skid tread, whose traction or non-skid elements are so 'constructed that they will cause the tr-ead lportion of the tire to wear uniformly, and which tread elements are so arranged that they will prolong the life of the tire tread.

In the manufacture of pneumatictires, as heretofore practised, numerous structures have been employed with aview to producing a tire which will prevent skidding of the vehicle upon which it is employed. Under coni' ditions of road service, these non-skid elements were usually worn away before the remander of the tire was worn out, and thus the worn ,tire functioned during a large portion of its useful life without the advantages of the non-skid elements. The majority of these tire structures have beenemployedin conjunction with high pressure tires, but with the advent of the 10W pressure orso-called balloon tires, new conditions arose owing to the relative flexibility of the balloon. tire .tread and carcass, and owing to the desirabllity of providing a wide road contact area,

tively great road contact area of the balloon improvedtire tread consists of spaced ribs reference may now be hada to the accompanywhich.i conditions were not contemplated in the tire, considerable noise results from the use of treads similar to those employed on high pressure tires. y My invention obviates the undesirable characteristics above enumerated by providing a tire structure especially adapted to be incorporated in balloon tires, although not rey strlcted to this type of tire. Generally,` my s.

encircling-the tread of the tire com ined with. independently functioning traction or nonskid elements arranged in rows between the ribs, and additional rows of such elements arranged beyond the ribs toward the sides of the tire. These ribs and traction elements are' formed on a tread which is semi-flat in crosssection in order that they may `substantially conform to the road surface whenthe tire is subjected to load. Tests have been conducted revealing the fact that, in tire treadsconstructed 4in this manner, the greatest unit load forces are imposed at the shoulders of the tire, that is, along the area substantially midway-between the circumferential' center of the tread and the outer edges thereof. The circumferential ribs are Adisposed along this area and therefore sustain a greater portionof the load.

For a better understanding of my invention ing drawings forming'a part of this specification, of which;

Eig. l is a fragmentary plan view-of a tire casing embodying my invention; and

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View of a tire casing embodying my invention, the view being aken1 substantially along the line II-II of .In practicing my invention, I have incorporated one form which it may assume in a tire casing 10 provided withbeads 11 and a tread portion 12. It will be observed by reference to Fig. Zthat theportions of the tread adjacent the sides of the tire, as indicated at 13, are made relatively thick, in order that the outer contour thereof may be semi-flat at its 'road engaging ortion and will therefore more readily 4con orm to the road surface when a loadis imposed upon the tire.

The tread of the tire is provided with two 100 circumferential ribs 14 and 15, which are disposed at the circumferential shoulders 16 and 17 of the tire. Atthe central portion of the tire between the ridges 14 and 15, a plurality of non-skid or traction elements 18, arranged in staggered relation, are formed, whose outer surfaces are of the same height in relief as the surfaces of the circumferential ribs. Additional rows of non-skid traction elements`19 and 2 0, similar to the elements 18, are arranged at the outer portions of the l' tread adjacent the sides of the tire. The non- `skid elements 18, 19 and 20 are of diamond contour, such shape beingvchosen because of are permitted to spread while in contact with the road surface. As the ribs 14 and 15 are continuous, they will offer relatively greater resistance to compression against the road surface than the non-skid elements, and as -they are disposedat the shoulders of the tire where the maximum load is imposed, a

- greater portion of the load will be supported thereby. Under these conditions of distribution of unit load pressure th non-skid elements 18 will be protected by the wear reslsting ribs, and their life will be materially prolonged. Furthermore, direct contact of the non-skid elements with the road will assure eflicient traction, which will prevent skiddlllg. f

A portion of the load will also be carrie by the outer tractionelements 19 and 20, but

the wear upon these elements will be less than that upon the central elements of the tread. After the central elements are worn to such an extent that they will no longer function eiciently as non-skid elements, the outer elements 19 and 2O will still serve to prevent skidding by providing effectivel traction sur- Because of the even distribution ofa greatl er portion of the load upon the circumferential ribs, and because of the individual action the-circumferentialribs, are spaced from theA of each non-skid element in sustainingits lesser portion of the load forces, the possibility of uneven wearing surfaces being formed on the tread is' reduced to a minimum. On the other hand, if the elements were connected by integral blocks or formed integrally with each other, the-connecting members would cause distortion forces to be transmitted from one to another,l and such interference with independent action would result in an undesirable uneven orbumpy traction surface. As

traction elements, thereby dividing them into a plurality 'of-rows', excessive noise invcident to the engagement of the tread with the road surfacewill be greatly reduced.

It should be noted that although a greater amount of rubber is disposed adjacent the shoulders of the tire, as, for example, by means of the ribs 14 and l5, yet the distribution of rubber circumferentially is uniform. Therefore, if an infinite number of transverse cross-'sectional areas are taken through the tire, the average of those areas will establish that the greatest area is located adjacent'the shoulders of the tire. Likewise, since the ribs and segmental tractive elements are of equal depth, the average road-engaging area of the tread is greatest in the zones of the shoulders of the tire,that is, the ribs present a greater surface area than the combined surface area of the segmental tractive elements, but, at the same time, the breadth of roadengaging -surface is uniform considering the entire circumference of the tire.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that my invention provides a practical solution for the problems of constructing a tire tread which possesses the combined qualities of long life, protection to non-skid tread elements, and elimination of excessive noise in use.

Although I have illustrated but one form which my invention may yassume and have described in detail but a single application thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that itis not so limited but that various minor modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is: l

1. A pneumatic balloon tire casing adapted to sustain the maximum load pressure at. the shoulder portions thereof, comprising circumferential ribs located at the sholuder portions to sustain said maximum load pressure, traction inducing protuberances disposed intermediate and on the outer sides of the ribs, said protuberances vbeing spaced from the ribs and from each other and of substantially equal height with said ribs, all said traction protuberances and ribs functioning independentlyof each other and being so arranged that the load pressure per unit area is substantially uniform along the road engaging portion of the tread.-

2. A pneumatic balloon tire provided with a relatively at .road-engaging tread portion, comprising a circumferential rib disposed adjacent each shoulder portion of the tread, and diamond-shapenon-skid elements of the same height in relief as the ribs disposed between the ribs and beyond the ribs toward the sides of the tire, the ribs being separated from adjacent elements by grooves corresponding in depth to the height in relief of the ribs.

3. A non-skid tread for a balloon tire comprising two circumferential ribs, a plurality of rows of staggered non-skid elements disposed between the ribs and a plurality of rows of non-skid elements disposed between each rib and the adjacent side of the tire,- all the elements being se arated from the ribs 3nd lfrom each other y grooves of uniform ept l 4. A pneumatic balloon" tire casing comprising a tread member provided with a circum-ferentially extending rib member disposed adjacent each shoulder of the casing, a lo plurality of traction elements of substantially equal height with the rib members disposed between and outside of the rib members and being spaced from said rib'members and from each other, said traction ele- 15 ments being so arranged as to maintain the lateral cross-sectional area of said tread membersubstantially uniform throughout the tire casing.

Inwitness whereof, I have hereunto signed 20 my name.

4 HAROLD A. BRI'r'rAIN.` 

